LETTER: Good libraries still relevant

I've heard this question more times than I care to remember, in all kinds of settings, and to be honest, it's a valid question. For many people in many situations, the result of a Google search will do just fine, as it's done for me over the last few days: what's a good substitute for white wine in a recipe, what's the weather in New Orleans, who owns the 49ers, what's Laura Bush up to these days?

The answer, naturally, is for lots of good reasons. Books, yes, lots of books, of all kinds and varieties, not only because they're fun but also because we know that reading at a young age has a profound impact on neurological and vocabulary development. Not to mention magazines and newspapers and music and local history and a doorway to many to worlds yet unimagined.

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It's also, for many people, a place to find employment and education, get health care information and news, and connect with their governments and communities. Recent research has shown that nearly 70 percent of Americans are users of public libraries, and that libraries are critical parts of the information ecosystems of the lives of people and their communities.

I've been to public libraries around the world, teeming with people of all ages reading, researching, learning, engaging with each other and enjoying themselves.

The public library is one of the few remaining completely public, open places and spaces. They take all comers and provide a place of creation, contemplation, solace, and excitement, in a safe, private and free space.

Every time, I always think back to my first one, on Broad Street, where my mom worked for many years and which forever colored my view of what a library is and can be.

Oneida now has the opportunity to build not only a new library building, but a commitment to itself and to its future. Libraries and librarians change lives, in ways small and large, every day.

The question is not, what that new library is for, or whether it would be worth the cost -- the question is how much better Oneida will be when the new one is open and a thriving part of the community.

Janes is a native of Oneida Castle and member of the first class of graduates installed on the Oneida High School Wall of Distinction.

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